Unforgiving

Oldham’s well-plotted 23rd novel featuring Lancashire Det. Chief Supt. Henry Christie (after Edge) finds him longing for retirement so he can marry his fiancée, Alison Marsh, and settle into married life and running Alison’s pub. Meanwhile, the disappearance of Laura Marshall, a special constable, while on a routine call three months earlier haunts him, and it will continue to haunt him if he doesn’t make an arrest. In addition, Christie and his team are on the brink of bringing in Fraser Worthington, a major player in the gun trade (among other criminal enterprises), if they can only catch up with him. A parallel story line involving Police Constable Jake Niven’s infidelity at first seems like filler, until it dovetails into the larger story in the second half. Though slightly marred by a few gratuitous sex scenes, this fast-paced crime tale and its dogged, world-weary protagonist will certainly have fans of gritty police procedurals on the edge of their seats. (Nov.)